


Strange Kids, Those Frye Twins

by BiBilaindo



Series: Strange Kids, Those Frye Twins [1]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Child Evie, Eldritch horror Frye Twins, Ethan being afraid of his children, Frye Twins, Young Evie, Young Jacob, child evie frye, child jacob frye, just a little bit, unspoken bonds between the Frye Twins, weird bond between humans and animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29072631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiBilaindo/pseuds/BiBilaindo
Summary: In which Ethan Frye notices the oddly weird behavior of his children that indicates a much deeper level of sentience than anyone could’ve thought they had.
Relationships: Ethan Frye & Evie Frye & Jacob Frye, Evie Frye & Ethan Frye, Evie Frye & Family, Evie Frye & Jacob Frye, Jacob Frye & Ethan Frye
Series: Strange Kids, Those Frye Twins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2132982
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Strange Kids, Those Frye Twins

**Author's Note:**

> Aye first work and it’s about assassin’s creed. Enjoy sentient Frye Twins because this fandom needs more of it.

Ethan Frye didn’t know when he started noticing it, the strange… patterns he sees in his children. He could’ve chalked it up to his absence for the first six years of their lives, something that could’ve existed long before he entered their lives and would exist long after.

He would’ve chalked it up to that if it weren’t the general uneasiness their behavior caused in him. The queasiness he felt in one look that lingered on for a second too long, the too quiet steps that one would attribute to a Master Assassin, not two six, seven come November, year old kids who haven’t even started training, or the slight tilt of their heads when they thought they were alone, even for the briefest moments, before they caught wind of some else’s presence and just started… staring at whomever dared to interrupt their… whatever.

And at first Ethan brushed it off, dismissing the cautiousness of the maids and servants as mere stories. That was until he experienced it himself one September evening, the third of September, he remembers. It was almost midnight, he was exhausted, and he had been working so hard that day that he didn’t even have time to wish his children goodnight. Not like he usually did, but it was nice to put in the effort sometimes. He was on his way to his own bedroom, footsteps quiet due to years of training, and passed the twins bedroom.

The door was open, an unusual sight to Ethan. He paused before passing the door, masked his presence by hiding in the shadows, and utilized his Second Sight, only to see two small figures of… of… Ethan didn’t know how to describe it, but his head was hurting the more he looked, and the warmth in his chest clued him in to the fact that those were his children. With his Second Sight, he could see that they were sitting on their beds, Evie on the left side of the room, and Jacob on the right. Their heads were tilted, and one leg dangled off the bed, swinging side to side in a hypnotic motion. They were a mirror image of each other. Mid swing they paused the movement of their leg, almost as if they were frozen in time, and in the blink of an eye, their heads were turned to Ethan’s direction, as if they were staring right at him through the wall.

Something told him to stay there, to not make himself known and wait until their attention was somewhere else, but that queasy feeling came back again and he knew it wouldn’t go away until the twins weren’t staring at him through the wall. So he deactivated his Second Sight, and took a few loud steps until he was in front of their strangely opened door, in their line of sight.

They were still staring at him, six-year-old eyes wide like saucers, and almost shining in the completely dark room. Ethan looked around, trying to understand what the hell his kids were doing. The window was closed, and thick curtains had been placed in front of it, allowing nothing but darkness to be in the room. They didn’t even light a lamp, which made sense since they were supposed to be sleeping, but it didn’t feel… right to say that was the reason. It wasn’t true.

Once his inspection of the room was over, he met the eyes of his children once again, and he swore they hadn’t blinked this entire time, eyes both watery and shining like a child, but dry from not functioning properly. Ethan wondered how that could be as he tried to figure out something to say now that he held their gazes, or gaze. He often thought they shared one eye, one touch, one mind, and soul, and that theory only seemed to be proven correct in the years to come.

“I thought you two would be asleep by now.” He scolded himself for letting that be the best thing he could have come up with in that moment.

Jacob, always the aloof one, well towards Ethan at least, didn’t respond. The twins both blinked, finally, in unison, before Evie responded, for the both of them, Ethan assumed. “We do not need to. Goodnight.” They continued to stare at him as he stood there for a few more seconds, until he gave a curt nod, voice caught in his throat at the abrupt farewell, and moved past the door, not even bothering to remember about the open door until he heard the pitter-patter of a child’s footsteps, purposely loud, that he knows, and the click of the door as it shut.

That night, Ethan wondered if they had left the door open on purpose or not. Was he meant to see that, or did he intrude on something meant for someone, or something, else? Each answer made him uneasy again, and he knew that his children wouldn’t stop making him feel that way.

His children, he didn’t know just why yet, but his children were indescribable. He didn’t know what the reason was for their behavior or what actions they were going to take because of it. And no matter what excuse he brings up, whether it be due to their grandmother’s influence, some strange drink or food, or whatever, it never seems to fit. It never seems to describe what was the root of this… he didn’t want to call it an issue, but it was definitely a mystery. One that Ethan doesn’t believe that he will be able to solve in his lifetime.

The queasy feeling comes back to him that night at dinner. He is the first one at the dinner table, a strange occurance, as the twins’ grandmother always told him of how they would rush to the table at dinner time, the appetite of toddlers insatiable. But he waits for his children, watching the entryways to the dining room to greet them. It hasn’t fully settle in, that queasy feeling, not until he looks away from the entryway and sees Evie and Jacob sitting in their respective chairs across from him. Evie on the left, and Jacob on the right.

They’re a bit taller now, Ethan denotes, when he figures out that they aren’t using a book to make them taller. Of course he realizes this before the shock of their sudden appearance can settle in fully. Once it does, the queasy feeling comes back in droves. He didn’t hear them walk in, let alone see them. Sure, there were other entries, but those were only known to Ethan and his allies in the Brotherhood, used for late night meetings and exchange of information that can’t be disclosed anywhere else. Ethan doubts that they know of those, but couldn’t, nor wouldn’t, put it past them. He also couldn’t excuse the possibility that they just… appeared, no matter how absurd he thought the explanation was. He kids were absurd, yeah, that’s the word! His kids were absurd.

Evie places her hands upon her lap, while Jacob places his on each side of the small plate in front of him. Jacob’s hands are wet and red, as if he ran them under hot water, and he’s slightly hunched over, staring at his empty plate with no emotion in those hazel eyes. Evie sits quietly, spine straight and fiddling with the white ribbon in her braided hair with her left hand, also wet, and also red.

“I’m surprised you two are late. You’re usually the first ones to be at the dinner table, according to your grandmother.” He can see the frown form on the twins’ faces, or face, they are alike in so many aspects, at the mention of their grandmother. It is a quick change from their blank stare just a second before. Ethan’s hand reaches for the bell to signal the servants to bring out the food. He is aware of the gaze on his hand, not red and wet like his children, and Ethan should probably ask about that before they started eating. “Did you two just finish washing up?” He asks, gesturing to their hands as he watches the servants bring in plates of dinner in a straight line. When he turns back to his children, they’re both staring intensely at him, head tilted just a bit, just for a second, before straightening out. Ethan tries not to startle at it, and coughs to keep his composure. They both nod, once, in response to him as the plates of food clatter in contact with the table, and the servants bow before leaving.

He can vaguely hear the servants’ whispers of a couple of children gone missing around town earlier. He should probably set an earlier curfew for his children.

He tries to spark up a conversation with the twins to distract him from that.

“So, what have you two been up to today?” He asks as he watches the two fix their plates with their red and wet hands, listening to the clinks of utensils as they grab their fill. Once they were done, Jacob and Evie switch plates, a strange ritual that Ethan has yet to figure out, but doesn’t want to interrupt, so he waits until they are done to grab food for himself.

Evie shoves food in her mouth before she can answer, and it is Jacob who speaks to him this time. “We played,” is his answer, and Ethan tries not to let the shock and unease show. It isn’t Jacob’s response that shocks him, but the fact that he spoke to him instead of Evie. He and Jacob had never truly gotten off on the right foot, the boy suspicious of him ever since his return from India. Ethan understands, of course. Understands that all he knew was his sister and grandmother, and never him, but even Evie was more open to Ethan than he. Evie spoke to him, Evie returned his hugs and signs of affection, Evie was a daughter. Jacob was not a son, or at least not yet. Ethan’s sure that it would resolve itself soon, he hopes.

And Ethan knows he shouldn’t be thinking these thoughts, knows that some part of Jacob, and therefore some part of Evie, feels the distance between them. The rift that exists due to years of absence. But he was trying to make it better, couldn’t he, and therefore they, recognize that?

Ethan moved to put food, pork, on his plate, grabbing greens as well, just to set a good example for his children.

“You shouldn’t be out all day,” Ethan starts, as he watches Jacob pick at the food on his plate. Did he not want to eat? Even after Evie had picked out what she knew he wanted? Strange. “You two aren’t able to defend yourselves properly, and there are a lot of strange people out there that could hurt you.” Evie blinks, swallowing her food before looking at Jacob, then down at his plate of food. Jacob was eating now, fingers tapping on the table.

“We are fine.” Jacob says once more, before the two eat in silence. Ethan decides to join them.

His eyes rake over his children, at Jacob’s chubby cheeks, his hair shiny, like his mother, and the way he twirls his fork around in between bites of food. He looks at Evie, who has been silent this whole dinner, who looks at Jacob out of the corner of her eyes, the ones that they share. The ones that sees everything Jacob sees, and observes him as if she’s waiting for something to happen. Her dress today is pink, a color he doesn’t see her wear often, and in her shiny hair is a white ribbon that Ethan doesn’t remember her wearing earlier. Although now that he’s thinking about it, did Evie change clothes throughout the day? Did Jacob? He doesn’t remember what they were wearing this morning, but it couldn’t have been black slacks and a blue shirt, in the case of Jacob, or the pink dress that Evie wears, could it? As he tries to think back to this morning, think back to his children, he realizes his memory is a bit fuzzy. He can’t visualize them clearly, can’t visualize the clothes they’re wearing, the expressions on their face, the words they spoke.

Was he just not paying attention? Was he just an awful father for not noticing?

Ethan focuses on his children once again. Playing, Jacob had said, but there were no signs of it on their figures. No dirt on Jacob’s clothes, no sweat on Evie’s brow, no harsh breathing from hours of playing. Their cheeks are unusually flushed, but not from running, just from being extremely healthy. Now, Ethan could chalk it up to them just washing up before dinner, like they said they did, but he knew that it was a lie, that they didn’t do any of that.

What the hell did his children get up to today?

It was mid afternoon, The Twins could guess. Father is the one who kept the time, and Father is out doing god knows what. The Twins are in some field, one they’ve visited many times before, with lots of flowers and a stream not that far off. Evie, a Twin, sat down in the tall grass, dull brown hair flowing over her shoulders, touching a dress that had no color. In her lap sat a book, one she had read so long ago, and many Times before. Her skin was paler than normal, eyes less shiny than they should have been. Her eyes flickers over to her Twin, Jacob, who was near the stream, running back and forth as a crow rested on his thin, raised wrist. He wore pants and a button shirt that had no color, bare feet barely touching the grass as he ran. Dull brown hair flew over his unlit eyes, barely breaking a sweat as he hops into the air. The bird stayed perched, but gave its black wings a flap. Jacob settles down, catching Evie’s gaze and walking towards her. Evie closes her book, setting it down beside her, to her left, always to her left. Jacob, a Twin, her Twin, sits to her right, keeping his left arm raised so Evie can see the crow, a rook, clearly. Its black eyes stared at Evie, head cocked to the side, and Evie did the same.

Once their inspection of each other ended, Evie nods, looking at Jacob, who gives Evie a wide smile at her approval. Evie speaks, voice far beyond her years, petting the crow’s head with her finger. “A crow, this Time?”

Jacob nodded, rubbing under the bird’s beak. “Yup! This little bugger’s gonna be my Bird!” Evie nodded, moving her dull hair out of her face. “We need a name for him!” Jacob declared, looking around to spot something to give him a clue.

The Twins pause, blinking once, twice, before craning their heads near the trees that block the field off from the rest of the world. There stood a little girl, older then The Twins’ given age, around thirteen or fourteen years old. She’s wearing a pink dress, and has a white ribbon holding her hair in a braid. Next to her stood a boy, same age as the girl, wearing black dress pants, a blue overcoat, and black boots, strange dress for the slightly warm weather. The two were walking over to The Twins, bending down in front of them with wide smiles.

“Little girls shouldn’t play with animals like that, y’know?” The pink dressed girl says. Her hair doesn’t get in her face like Evie’s did. Evie blinks as she registers she was being talked to, and leans away a bit as she realizes the two strangers are in her space, in Their space. It was Their space. Jacob moves his arm away from the boy as he tried to touch his Bird. The rook gave a small caw of caution. Jacob eyes narrow at the frown on the boy’s face. “Come on, my friend and I have a better things we all can do then sit here in the dirt.” The little girl says, tugging on Evie’s dress without color. A sound of disapproval comes out of Jacob’s mouth, an animalistic sound almost. One look from Evie placated him as his Twin took her arm back.

“Our friend has a carriage, you know! He said he’s going to let us visit the countryside, and you can come with us if you want.” The boy said as he tried to pet Jacob’s Bird once more. The Bird nipped at his fingers, cawing even louder. Jacob can feel his teeth grind together in annoyance, an emotion he doesn’t feel often in this Time.

The Twins stay silent though, still staring at the strangers with suspicion.

The strangers falter under the stare of The Twins, but didn’t back down. “Come on,” whined the girl, “it’ll be fun! I promise!” She widens her eyes, something that The Twins are sure worked on many others. Not them, however.

The Twins are smart enough to know the strangers are trying to lure them somewhere. For what, The Twins do not care. All they care about is the fact that these strangers are in Their space, Their bubble.

The Twins gave one look to each other. An ask for permission. An understanding reached. A decision made.

In unison, they, The Twins, turned back towards the strangers as the sun seemed to dim, gone so, so fast, leaving the field in a semi state of darkness. In that state of darkness, The Twins eyes glow a color that could not be described, like ancient beings thought to only be seen in the sky. The wind blew, picking up speed slightly, whipping the stranger’s hair and clothes around them as it got darker and darker. The Twins remain unaffected by the change in weather, eyes boring into the souls of the strangers, who were unable to look away from the only source of light in the pitch black of the field.

A caw from the bird, an unseen flap of its wings, and as soon as the change started, it was over.

When the light returned, The Twins were petting the bird, staring at one another as another understanding was reached.

The strangers are gone now, were never there as far as The Twins are concerned.

There is new life in The Twins, that much anyone could tell if they could remember what they looked like before.

Their cheeks are rosier, hair shining in the sunlight, the eyes that they share bright. Evie holds a white ribbon in her hand, holding it out towards Jacob. Jacob nods and sets his Bird down on the ground. He stands up, adjusting his blue shirt and wiping off the dirt from his black pants, before settling behind Evie, his Twin. He grabs the ribbon from her hand and moves her shiny brown hair from hair face, letting it fall behind her. He braids her hair, tying it together with the white ribbon, readjusting the braid until it falls over her left shoulder, settling on her pink dress.

“Colin.” Evie says once Jacob was done, fiddling with her new ribbon. Jacob looks at his Bird, who looks back at The Twins with a tilt of its head. The Twins did the same.

“Yes, Colin.” Jacob says, happy that his Bird has a Given name for this Time. Evie smiles as well, standing up with her Twin. Colin gives another flap of its wings, wanting to fly, and needing permission. Jacob nods, and The Twins watch the bird fly towards the sky, circling over them for protection. They take a few steps over to the river, feet barely touching the ground as they bend down, Evie to the left, Jacob to the right. In unison they submerge their hands in the running water, interrupting the age old flow. They sit like this for a while, watching as the water starts to bubble up, like a pot of water sitting over a fire. They keep their hands there and watch as steam rises from the water, surrounding them and clouding their vision.

A few seconds pass and they remove their hands, now wet and red, from the water. The Twins are clean now. They stand up in unison, wiping the dirt from their knees, and Jacob raises an arm for Colin. The Bird came, sitting on his wrist with a cry.

“No.” Evie says as she goes to pick up her book. Jacob turns to her with a frown. “No.” She repeats, turning to her Twin. “He will not know what to do with Colin.” She states as a fact. It was. Evie gives her brother a sympathetic look. “Colin will still be here, Jacob. We will come back after Father leaves.” The frown never left Jacob’s face, but he knows his Twin is right. With a lift of his arm, Colin is gone, circling the air once more. “He needs Father’s trust.” Evie states another fact as they walk out the field.

“No.” Jacob objects, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Jacob.”

“No!”

Evie sighs, taking his hand in hers. A touch that calmed her Twin down. “It doesn’t have to be a full conversation. You know that as well as I. Just establish a connection so Colin doesn’t see him as a threat.” She gave his fingers a squeeze, and Jacob lets out a huff.

“Fine. I draw the line at 3 sentences, though.”

“Deal.” She says, connecting their foreheads for a brief moment.

The Twins walk back to their home hand-in-hand, with a cry of Jacob’s Bird loud overhead.

As they prepare for bed that night, The Twins stand at the foot of their beds, staring at the opened door in anticipation. They can sense Father’s presence before they hear his footsteps, purposely loud this time. The Twins tilt their heads towards each other for a moment, reaching another understanding before focusing their eyes on Father’s figure.

Ethan didn’t know why his heart was beating so loudly as he walked towards the twin’s room. He tries to keep it in check as he approaches, footsteps loud in order to cover up the banging of his beating heart. Which sound the twins heard first, he is not sure. Once he reaches their door, he gives them a crooked smile, an odd thing to do, but he hopes expressing kindness would placate the… fear? Did he fear his children? God no, of course he didn’t, but it was something akin to that, was it not? The knowledge that his children were something else, something much… older or certainly not human, but at the same time they were. Maybe an ancient subset of human, or maybe something that came before, evolved into the now.

Whatever his children were, whatever they are or have been or will be, Ethan would have to deal with it accordingly, deal with their absurdity in a way that would not have them turn on him once a wrong step was made.

“I just wanted to say goodnight,” he states, fingers drumming on the doorframe, and as he looked at their slightly glowing eyes, he wonders how many times his children have been on this Earth before, how much knowledge they have, how much they experienced. They blink at him, and Ethan feels his uneasiness return.

“Goodnight, Father.” They say in unison, and Ethan is once again shocked at Jacob’s speaking. He watches them climb into bed, laying down on their side and facing one another without blinking. At this point Ethan knows he’s observing something he shouldn’t be, so he closes the door and walks back to his room for the night.

Yeah, he would have to deal with his children accordingly, even if he doesn’t completely understand what the hell they are yet.


End file.
